Hey everyone
was wondering, just how clean do I need to get my bike to get it through customs and back onto Oz (Brisbane)? I hear that it has to be spotless - ie a toothbrush job? is this right from anyones experience? I'll be coming back from IndoChina and I guess this might be a bit of a red flag too.
Any comments greatly appreciated
CYA
Dave

if you have an oil cooler make sure it is blown out - also up behind chain cover...it's gotta be spotless so I've been told !
Zig

Hey Dave

In February I brought my bike back home from NZ. I gave the bike a thorough cleaning with a pressure cleaner with soap at a "wash and Go" place. Granted we didnt do a gret deal of off road stuff in NZ but I just made sure there was no dirt or mud on it. Check under the guards, behind the number plate etc. Check that there are no flys, bugs etc in the oil radiator. I certainly did not go the tooth brush deal but did make sure it was very very clean.

Cheers
Marty

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+1 definitely try and get it completely spotless even in the areas you think they won't look.

Like Quandary we also brought our bikes beck to Brisbane from New Zealand after 4 weeks of every dirt road we could find around the South Island. Had so much fun we are going back again this year

They were absolutely filthy when we started cleaning them, and even after that there was a lot of road dust in places that we just could not get to or more accurately could not be bothered getting to, like under the battery etc etc etc. But they can't even look there without you being there to open up the bike and I have never heard of anyone who has a bike that "looks" like it has had some effort put in to clean it appropriately being asked to dismantle their bike.

We spent half a day cleaning the bikes before shipping from Christchurch, pressure washed them first and then cleaned them with car detergent then a cap full Keosene in a bucket of water made em shine so they looked shmikko.

The most important thing is that there are no bug guts or dirt in places they look for it such as under the mudguards and in the tyre tread, think like an inspector and go over the bike looking in every nook and cranny you can easily look into.

Put in a bit of effort and it will be fine, IMO there is a lot of scare mongering about Oz quarantine, the bike MUST be clean as a whistle, but it does not have to be showroom shiny. They are worried about disease pathogens and gremlins that sneak in not how spiffy the bike looks.

Thanks everyone - look's like I'll be spending a good day on the bike before shipping!! I spose at least the jobs done when you finally get home, hey.
Thanks again and good travelling.
Dave